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OK, remember the fairy tale of the kindly shoe maker? At night, the good little elves would come out and do his work and tidy the workshop. Well, I think I have elves too – only these elves are EVIL!! I dust, sweep, mop, and tidy during the day. While my husband is in the hospital, my dogs and I are the only ones in the house. I have a severe cold or flu or distemper or something, so I am not doing any crafting or baking or much of anything. In fact, I keep coughing and sneezing so much, it activates the clapper. The lamp is going on and off all day.

But when I wake up, the house looks like there was a frat party here last night!! There is laundry and dishes and dust and muddy paw prints and clutter – and how did the trash can get full!! Come on!! How is this possible?

So I tidied up again. I made up a cup of tea and curled up on the couch with Baby Dawg. I glanced over at the kitchen floor and there are two hair balls laughing at me – mocking me!! When I catch one of those elves, he is in for a whomping!!

Recently, an acquaintance paid a brief visit to my home. Upon entering, the guest looked about and “smirked”. Yeah, I will call it a smirk. I have visited this person’s home and it is quite stylish, very formal and tidy.

OK, being completely honest – I am NOT the world’s best housekeeper. I am NOT the worst either. My house is a simple farm house, no fancy furnishings or carpets. Everything is more “homey” and functional. Yes, there is a mule halter hanging on the closet door handle and I have a saddle in the guest room.

I keep up with the laundry. All dishes are washed and put away promptly and counter tops are cleaned. Beds are sort of made (dogs have a tendency to unmake them). I also sweep and mop at least four times a week. With windows open, my house is filled with good, clean country air – and dust and pollen. I need to dust and wash windows and put away some clutter – so yeah, my house looks “lived-in”.

I have a dog door, and two dogs – hairy, shedding dogs. So, there are little hair balls hiding under beds and chairs. On any given day, there are probably muddy little paw prints about as well.

So, the fact is – if you come to my house looking for dust and dirt and dog hair – you will find it. But, if you come to my house looking for hospitality, friendship, warmth, acceptance, and a hot meal – you will find that too. Visitors are welcome to put their feet up on the coffee table or grab a cozy blanket and snuggle up on the couch. I don’t freak out if a drink or a snack is spilled. In fact, dogs handle most spills rather quickly and efficiently. I invite visiting youngsters to pull out toys and rocking horses and crayons and books, spread them about the living room – and just play.

So, here is my question. What is more important, housekeeping or hospitality? Maybe it is just a personal preference, but I want people to “feel at home” in a cluttered, lived-in house with a few stray hair balls and muddy paw prints – oh, and some dust and dog snot on the windows.

I am a responsible adult. I work hard and I care about doing a good job. I need to stay current in my field, so I am attending a professional conference. The speakers are very knowledgeable and interesting. I focus intensely on their speech – then moments later I find my mind has wondered off! This is the typical conversation between WORK ME and my NAUGHTY mind:

WORK: “Naughty mind. Get back here and focus.’

NAUGHTY: “OK – I am focused on the speaker. He has brown hair. He looks like a horse trainer I saw last week. I wonder if my horse….”

WORK: “Stop that!! Get back here and listen. This is important.”

NAUGHTY: “Oh, Yes. OK. It is important. Hey, did I finish that assessment due tomorrow. That is important. I need….”

WORK: “Now cut that out! This is crazy. You are a dedicated professional. Discipline!! Be disciplined and listen!!”

NAUGHTY: “Alright already!! I am listening. Chill! Oh look, there is a picture of a kitty in the presentation….”

Bit of an odd topic for me – maybe the title should be “another bad idea”.

Let me explain, I am not a neat freak, my house is clean-ish. I try, truly I do. But farm chores come first. Of course, I vacuum and mop daily – I have a German Shepherd. Dishes and counter tops get the daily scrubbing – dust and clutter, I can overlook.

So I came up with a genius idea. I will put all my daily bathroom toiletries in this little basket. Everything will be nice and tidy versus sprawled all over the counter. Then, I simply pickup the basket to wipe down the vanity. Problem, when the age spot fade cream tube is the same color as the toothpaste tube – AAAAAHHH – I threw away my toothbrush and my breath is NOT minty fresh. Maybe the fade cream will remove coffee stains from my chompers??

OK, maybe I need to rethink my storage. But, this is not my worst idea – not by a long shot. There was the time I didn’t want to take time to go to the hair salon so I decided I could cut my own hair – how hard could it be?? That was my hat phase. Oh, then there was the time I super glued my bare foot to the floor – I may never live that one down.